Potomac River

ARTICLES ABOUT POTOMAC RIVER BY DATE - PAGE 3

Southbound Interstate 81 was closed Tuesday morning following a single-vehicle accident on the bridge over the Potomac River, a supervisor for Washington County Emergency Services said. Police were responding to the accident at 7:48 a.m. Tuesday. Earlier, a tractor-trailer accident caused the exit ramp from southbound Interstate 81 to Exit 2 (Virginia Avenue/U.S. 11) near Williamsport to be closed, a supervisor for Washington County Emergency Services said. Police responded to that accident at 6:16 a.m. Tuesday.

A more squeamish people might have called pest control. But not the people of Williamsport. Near the Potomac River at the foot of steep, grassy Doubleday Hill, children played with rats in open shoe boxes. Adults roamed around dressed as rats, and even the mayor found amusement eyeballing a white albino rat in a tank on a table. They were not only tolerating the long-tailed rodents, but celebrating them in a unique, inaugural take on Groundhog Day proudly dubbed River Rat Day. More than 75 people gathered Saturday morning braving roughly 20-degree air to observe whether “Rat-otomac Willie” would see his shadow.

Where the south side of the Potomac River ends and the state of Virginia begins is the subject of a court case in Washington County Circuit Court between the owners of the river bottom and two river rafting companies. On Friday, Circuit Judge M. Kenneth Long Jr. heard arguments on a defense motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by Potomac Shores Inc. against River & Trail Outfitters of Knoxville, Md., and River Riders Inc. of Harpers Ferry, W.Va. Potomac Shores Inc. owns more than 500 acres of land that includes the bottom of the Potomac River and that property extends to what is now dry land on the Virginia side, due to changes in the course of the river, Potomac Shores' attorney Bradford Webb argued during in the hearing.

“Rockin' at River Bottom” will be held Saturday at Williamsport's River Bottom Park. The rock festival is a fundraiser to benefit the Potomac River. Gates open at 9 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. Five rock bands are scheduled to perform. The Edmund Allan Brown Band kicks off the event at 11 a.m. Crush Theory performs at 1 p.m., Calisus at 3 p.m., Charm City Devils at 5 p.m. and Rhino Bucket at 7 p.m. (the times are approximate due to band setups). Food will be available for purchase, including breakfast and chicken dinners.

Two people who were reported stranded on an island in the Potomac River on Saturday night were rescued and not injured, a Washington County 911 dispatch supervisor said. The two people were near Lock 34, which is close to Harpers Ferry Road in the southern tip of Washington County. It was not known what they were doing in or near the water. A call for help came in to the 911 center at about 8:15 p.m. Crews responded and rescued the two people shortly before 9:30 p.m., according to the dispatch supervisor.

All northbound lanes of Interstate 81, south of the Potomac River bridge, were open Sunday morning after an accident shut down the northbound lanes for a short period, according to West Virginia State Police. The accident, reported at 9:15 a.m. Sunday, involved a vehicle that rolled over a few times, according to Berkeley County Emergency Services. One person was taken to City Hospital, the 911 official said. State police said the lone vehicle in the accident was a passenger vehicle.

Four people were pulled out of the Potomac River near U.S. 340 and Keep Tryst Road on Saturday night, according to Washington County Emergency Services. All four, one adult male and three female teenagers, refused transport to the hospital, Potomac Valley Fire Chief Eric Gray said. The foursome was tubing on the river around 11 p.m., Gray said. Also responding were emergency services officials from the Boonsboro fire department's Rohrersville substation and Brunswick fire department in Frederick County, Md., according to a 911 supervisor.

Four people were pulled out of the Potomac River near U.S. 340 and Keep Tryst Road on Saturday night, according to Washington County Emergency Services. All four, one adult male and three female teenagers, refused transport to the hospital, Potomac Valley Fire Chief Eric Gray said. The foursome was tubing on the river around 11 p.m., Gray said. Also responding were emergency services officials from the Boonsboro fire department's Rohrersville substation and Brunswick fire department in Frederick County, Md., according to a 911 supervisor.

A Frederick, Md.-area man who was tubing on the Potomac River with friends Saturday and got separated from them clung to a rock overnight in a T-shirt and shorts until Washington County fishermen heard his yells for help Sunday morning, a Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police officer said Sunday. The 36-year-old man was taken to Frederick Memorial Hospital as a precaution Sunday morning because he had been in the cold water overnight, and was released from the hospital later that morning, Cpl. Russell Boback said.

West Virginia State Police have released the name of a man who they said they believe jumped into the Potomac River after leading authorities on a car chase that began with shots being fired Monday night near Berkeley Springs, W.Va. David James Windham has been charged with one count of grand larceny and two counts of attempted unlawful assault of a police officer, according to a news release from West Virginia State Police. The incident began after troopers received a call for a copper theft at 9:05 p.m. Monday near Sir Johns Run Road in Berkeley Springs.